


Breakaway

by veenaistired



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, F/M, Shotgun Wedding, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 20:28:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19753252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veenaistired/pseuds/veenaistired
Summary: „Are you suggesting we elope?“, he asks, the fact that he can’t quite believe her clearly evident in his voice. She just nods, staring at him, at his very soul with those dark eyes of hers. It takes only a second for him to find his answer.„Alright, let’s do it.“





	Breakaway

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came right for my throat, I just had to write it. I just couldn't imagine those two getting married the conventional way.  
> Enjoy <3

It’s one of those lazy Sundays that are perfect for lying around all day and not doing anything productive. The lying around part, Neji and Tenten got on lock, but, sadly, there is some work to be done today. More specifically, planning their wedding, which is coming closer and closer into view as the days slide by. Not that Neji isn’t looking forward to getting married, there is nothing he wishes for more than to spend the rest of his days with Tenten, but planning the whole thing is way more work than either of them anticipated. They’d wanted to keep it small, but between his huge family and their group of friends, the list of people to mail out invitations to had gotten longer and longer. Not to mention that there is always someone sticking their nose into the preparations, even though they've got no business doing so. 

Right now, he’s looking over sitting arrangements, while she idly skims through a magazine about table decorations The pair is seated on the large, comfortable couch in the living room and while he’s sitting up, his fiancee is laying on her back, legs in his lap. Neji is pondering how far away he can seat his uncle from himself and his wife to be without it seeming overly rude when Tenten slams the magazine closed with a smack.

„Fuck it. Planning this stupid reception is making me want to slam my head against a wall.“

Not how he would have put it, but, essentially, he feels the same. Still, if they want to get it done before the rapidly approaching wedding date, they have to plan at least a little more today. Neji puts the thick binder, filled with things for the wedding away and starts gently massaging his girlfriend’s feet in order to keep her spirits up.

„I’m not a huge fan of this either, but we need to get at least one more thing done. I’ll make you some cocoa and then we’re going to focus for another hour.“ At the mention of her favorite beverage, she likes it with a lot of whipped cream and even after years of being in a relationship he still can’t fathom how she can possibly stomach something so sweet, her expression lightens up a little. After considering the bribe for a second, she speaks up again.

„I’ve got a better idea.“ He raises an eyebrow because, well, Tenten’s „better ideas“ usually end with the two of them doing something crazy, which is fun but doesn’t help the situation at hand. Either that, or they end up in bed, naked, which is more than just fun but also doesn’t help with the current problem. What she proposes today, falls under the first category. „Let’s just… not plan anything. For the wedding I mean.“

„Well, that sounds nice, but nobody else is going to do it for us.“

„Yeah, no shit. Getting someone else to do it isn’t what I meant.“ For a second they just look at each other, because Neji still doesn’t get what his girlfriend is talking about. „Let’s just get married. Today. No fancy ceremony or reception.“ The only reason he is just mildly shocked by the sudden proposal is because, sitting on that couch with him, is none other than Tenten, whose personality and thoughts he knows better than anyone else's. 

„Are you suggesting we elope?“, he asks, the fact that he can’t quite believe her clearly evident in his voice. She just nods, staring at him, at his very soul with those dark eyes of hers. It takes only a second for him to find his answer. 

„Alright, let’s do it.“ 

Her eyes light up like glowsticks and the most beautiful grin starts spreading across her face. He could look at it forever, but she pulls him into a hug, resting her head on his shoulder. For a good while the pair just holds each other like that, basking in their happiness. When Tenten pulls away, her face is full of childlike excitement. She all but jumps up from the couch, grabs the car keys from where they are lying on the table and starts putting on her shoes. 

„Wait, you mean right now?!“

„Of course! That’s kind of what eloping means, right?“ She says the words so casually, all while giving him that look of her’s, challenging him to go along with it. Just like she’s always done. There is no way he could ever say no to her now, so he joins his fiancee and soon enough they’re out of the house and in their car. As they sit there, all ready to go, Neji finds that he has no idea where their little impromptu wedding is supposed to take place.

„Where do you want me to drive.“ For a second, she considers, obviously not having planned the whole thing through either. 

„Lee’s place first“, she finally says. „You need a best man anyways and I can look up where we can get married on the way.“ Tenten is already fishing her phone out of the pockets of her jeans, and he starts the engine. 

„Well, if I get to have a best man, you’ll need a bridesmaid. And someone to walk you to the altar.“ He’s half teasing, but if their best friend is along for the ride, they might as well get a person for all of the important functions.

„The second one won’t be a problem, we can’t _not_ bring Gai“ That much is true. Over the years the man has become somewhat of a guiding light, a supportive pillar in both of their lives. Without him, Neji would’ve never managed to navigate his, stressful at best, downright awful at worst, teenage years. Not to mention that most of the time, you don’t get Lee without Gai. „About the bridesmaids, why not bring your cousins? They’ll skin you alive anyways if we get hitched without telling them.“

„True enough“, he chuckles, „I’ll call them.“

To be fair, the fact that he doesn’t want to face his cousin’s wrath isn’t the only reason he wants them to come along. His relationship to the Hyuuga family, a bunch of pompous pricks, how Tenten aptly calls them, has always been strained. Even more so since his father died years ago. Hanabi and Hinata are the only people in the huge clan he cares about and throughout the years, the three have stood up for each other in the face of the family’s scrutiny time and time again. So, Neji calls his cousins while Tenten calls Lee and fifteen minutes later, they find themselves in front of their best friend’s apartment, the two people they’ve been looking for already waiting on the sidewalk. 

„Get in, we don’t have all day!“, his fiancee yells after rolling down the window, waving frantically at the two men. Not wasting any time, they join the couple in the car, looking every bit as excited as Neji feels. 

„I’m so happy for you guys!“, Lee blurts out, instantly followed up by congratulations from Gai. The energy in the car shifts from excited to downright explosive and the group finds themselves laughing heartily throughout the entire drive. As soon as Tenten has procured the address they need, Neji sends it over to his cousins and, less than an hour later, all six of them are standing in front of a building that’s decorated to look like a chapel, but obviously isn’t, surrounded by multiple casinos and a mall. The second the bride leaves the car, she’s pulled into a bone-crushing hug by Hanabi, who has already started rambling about the whole affair. 

„I can’t believe you two are doing this! Hiashi is going to be _so pissed!_ “ Despite the words, the young woman doesn’t sound angry at all, a mischievous grin plastered on her face. Out of the three of them, she’s always gotten the most kicks out of defying the head of the family.

After greetings are done and over with, the ragtag group enters the building posing as a church to inquire about, well, getting married. Thankfully, there is an open time-slot in two hours, several other couples already waiting to take their vows before them, so after letting the attendant make photo-copies of their ID’s, they decide to wait outside. Instead of getting some downtime, his younger cousin is already about to whisk Tenten away, into the mall.

„Hina and I are going to dress up the bride, don’t you dare follow us. No seeing the bride before the wedding!“ The tone of her voice makes it clear that there is to be no argument about this. 

Neji and his girlfriend exchange a slightly worried look, both of them having to have sit through multiple of Hanabi’s shopping trips and it had been exhausting every single time. Thankfully, Hinata is along for the ride today and he hopes, at least for his fiancee’s sake, that she’ll manage to balance out her younger sister’s energies. 

Soon, the three women are gone like the wind leaving the bridegroom standing on the street with his two best friends. They decide to get the rings which is a challenge in itself since all three of them are effectively banned from setting as much as a foot into the mall. Instead, they go for one of the casino’s gift shops. The selection isn’t exactly what he would’ve gone for if he’d had a choice, but they can always get proper rings later. Neji ends up with two rather cheap plastic rings, one of them with a strawberry, the other one with a cherry motif. They look exactly like the kind of jewelry you’d find in the kid’s section of a department store, but they’ll do. Especially since strawberries are Tenten’s favorite fruit. Meanwhile, his friends procure two bottles of rather cheap champagne and a pack of plastic cups. With nothing left to do but wait, the three sit on the curb in front of the fake church. Over the course of the next hour, Neji shifts through every possible emotion on the positive spectrum, thinking about their relationship so far.

When they first met, still teenagers and fresh out of high school, neither of them had cared much for the other. Over time, however, they’d grown close and, after harboring mutual crushes for over a year and, quite frankly, acting like absolute idiots, Tenten had finally made the first step and kissed him when they were out for karaoke with their friends. They’d been together ever since. He remembers their first time, on the same night as that kiss, heated and full of urgency. He remembers their first vacation together, the first time she met his family and, the night after that, their first real fight. Even more than that he remembers making up again, their relationship stronger than ever before. And, above all else, Neji remembers the night he proposed and the way her eyes lit up when he’d told her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. 

Caught up in his own thoughts, the minutes pass by in a blur and Hanabi comes running towards the small group of men.

„She’s ready, get your asses in there!“ And they do just that, only Gai staying behind to lead Tenten down the aisle. 

Standing there in front of the altar, among the plastic flowers, a cover version of „Stand by Me“ playing from the speakers, Neji finds that he’s never looked forward to anything this much in his life. The double doors finally swing open revealing Gai and, more importantly, Tenten. 

She looks absolutely radiant. His cousins probably tried to put her in a dress or something else looking vaguely fancy, but that just isn’t Tenten’s style, so she’s walking down the aisle in the same jeans and oversized graphic tee from this morning. Someone has obviously styled her hair though, as it’s falling around her shoulders in loose waves instead of the usual updo, framing her face in a way that looks absolutely stunning. She’s decorated herself with a lot of cheap, colorful jewelry that will match the plastic rings perfectly, a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses resting on her nose and a plastic tiara on her head. Neji swears that she’s never looked more beautiful. In those seconds of her walking towards him, they exchange a look that says more than a million words, a youthful blush on both of their faces. Before he knows it, they stand face to face, the attendant ready to begin the ceremony. 

"Dear Friends, we are gathered here today to join these two souls in matrimony.“ The man goes on about the magnitude of their union for a good minute, then it’s time for them to say their vows.

„You are the best thing that's ever happened to me“, he begins, improvising, but speaking from the heart. „You were the one that made me realize I already had all the tools I needed to break out of my shell. Every day I spend with you makes me the happiest person on earth and I promise to love you until the end of time.“ With that, the fishes the ring out of his pocket and puts it on her finger, putting the engagement ring that's been on it away. Now, it’s her turn.

„When we first met, I couldn’t stand you. I thought you were cold and mean, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Kissing you that night, behind the karaoke bar, was the best decision I’ve ever made. I love you more than anything else and I’ll stick with you until the day we die. Come hell or high water.“ The vow is so distinctively Tenten, he can’t help but smile. He knows Gai has given her the other ring, but she procures something else out of the pockets of her jeans first. A matching pair of heart-shaped sunglasses. She gives him a mischievous grin and he leans down a little, so the bride can place the accessory on the bridge of his nose. Then, she slides the ring onto his finger. 

„By the power vested in me by the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss each other.“

And just like that, they’re married. For a split second Neji looks down at his wife, through the rose-tinted glasses and sees nothing but happiness in her eyes. Then, more intensely than they would have ever dared in front of his relatives or other wedding guests, they kiss, the deafening cheers of their small group of friends all around them.


End file.
